Proscribed Affection
by Victoria Levi
Summary: The children of an endless war never understand what they are fighting for. A careless and curious human allows a troll prisoner of war to go free. Honour bound the freed Troll returns for the girl. Both outcasts, they come to share an inexplicable bond.
1. Chapter 1

Stay away from them, those creatures, they are dangerous, they are the enemy. Hakiue's mother's words ran through her head as she crept closer for a better view. The young male Troll was crouched down in the small cage he was placed in. Hakiue was intrigued by the creature. Pale blue skin stretched over toned leg and arm muscles, his face was obscured by the dark blue hair falling around his face; only his tusks could be seen protruding through the blue curtain of hair. In the distance Hakiue heard the familiar voices of her party members who were around the campfire drinking and eating. Feeling the need to be cautious and not to be seen or caught by her team mates, she stepped further back into the bushes. They had specifically told her earlier to stay away from the monster. Being a junior member of the party she had to obey her superiors. Her movement rustled the leaves, the Troll lifted up his head sharply, his brown eyes looked right at her, and they betrayed neither fear nor anger. There was something about them though that made Hakiue feel compassion for the Troll. She slowly closed her own eyes and in the darkness of her mind she could still see the Troll. She knew that he would be tortured and killed in the morning; such was the fate of any prisoner of her guild.

Hakiue opened her eyes again; the Troll was still staring at her, but with less intensity. She quietly stepped out of the bushes and came into full view of the Troll, he looked at her, there was a calm in the air between them. They looked at each other intently, for that moment Hakiue felt like no one else in the world existed but the Troll and her. She let her eyes linger on the Troll for a while before turning to where his bow and quiver were carelessly thrown. She picked up the ranged weapon in a slow and deliberate fashion. She heard the Troll stiffen. Hakiue turned to look at the Troll; he stared at her with questioning eyes. She walked towards the cage, with her free hand she pulled out her wand. The Troll stiffened unsure of Hakiue's intentions. Hakiue pointed her wand at the lock of the cage and shot a shadow bolt causing the lock to fall to the ground and the cage door to swing open. The Troll looked at her intently, unsure of what to do. Hakiue took four steps forward; she was less then a meter away from the pale blue creature. She looked up into his face, his eyes questioned her. She offered him his bow and quiver; he looked at her a bit longer examining her face for malice before accepting his weapons. Hakiue stepped aside giving the Troll the opportunity to leave his small prison. The Troll exited the cage and turned to Hakiue uttered some unintelligible words, and then ran off. Hakiue stood there, alone in the dead of the night... the voices of her laughing team mates in the distance drifting to her, brining her to reality. What had just happened moments ago felt like it was ages ago to Hakiue.

The next day Hakiue found herself clapped in irons and held captive in the stockades of Stormwind for treason against the Alliance. She had given her life for that of the pale blue creature in the forest. She had no regrets.

* * *

Junku sat in the darkness, his back to the cold stone wall. Stormwind. Never in a million years did he imagine himself so deep into Alliance territory, much less outside of the stone walls of Stormwind. He did not know what exactly caused him to take leave of all common sense and follow his captors this far into Kilamandor.

Junku closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He could clearly see the girl's intense brown eyes, her dark hair framing her soft face. What did he get himself into? She was just a human. Humans are worthless and cannot be trusted, that's what his older brother always told him, his younger bother would always chime in with 'they're ugly to boot'. A Human that saved a Troll. There was one for the storybooks. Junku opened his eyes; he could see the night stars through the leaves of the trees. A human that saved a troll, who saved the human. Junku smiled, that would make an interesting and unimaginable story. How the hell was he going to get her out of there? He knew that she was in the city underground, his tracking skills had her location within Stormwind pinpointed, it was just a matter of getting to that point without being noticed. He needed a really big distraction.

"FOR THE HORDE!"

As if on cue, Junku heard the Horde battle cry, and it was coming closer. He couldn't believe his luck, and the stupidity of some of his kin... Storm Stormwind? But he knew that would be the distraction he would need. Junku got to his feet and shimmied his way to a better spot, his intentions were to climb the wall, if his tracking instincts were correct the girl was down an alley from this spot. There was also two men guarding the entrance to the underground cells.

His Horde allies were getting closer and Junku began to scale the wall, if he timed it right he would be at the top of the wall by the time the Horde arrived at the Stormwind gates. The further up the wall he got the louder the Horde cries became, he was sure by now the guards at the main gate have been alerted. Junk heard the first clash of steal as he reached the top of the wall, from the top he saw the city guards scrambling to the action, leaving the way clear for his rescue operation. Junku jumped down with a grunt, his feet stinging from the drop. The alley was emptied of Alliance. Junku rolled his eyes; they were as stupid and hot headed as the Horde, and just as predictable. No wonder this war has been going on for years.

Junku ran to the underground cells to the point he was sure the girl was. His tracking was flawless, she was indeed there, curled up on the floor.

"Psst" he tried to get her attention.

The girl looked up and turned to the sound, her hair was matted to her face and blood had dried at the corners of her mouth. Junku winced; the girl had taken a beating. Her eyes widened upon recognising the Troll before her.

Junku got to work on breaking the lock. He took his two handed axe and began to bang the lock, the sound resounded down the corridors. The girl shouted something at him. He looked at her; she had a look of slight concern but then pointed to something behind him. He turn to look, there on the wall was a large ring with a single key. Man how stupid do these people get? Junku put away his axe and went for the key; sure enough it was the key to her cell. He opened the door and motioned her to exit. The girl stood up and took a step forward; she gasped in pain and fell to the ground. She looked at Junku pointed at her right foot and said something intelligible which he guessed to be something along the lines of I hurt my leg. Junku walked toward her, with one bend he scooped her up into his arms. This rescue was starting to be more then he bargained for. A life for a life right? So if he died saving her that would be no less then what she had done for him, mind you she was still alive. Junku rushed out of the stockades and back into the alley way. He stopped for a moment. Where too? He had to admit to himself that he didn't' think this far ahead. In fact he was a little surprised that he was still alive. He looked at the wall that he had originally climbed over and considered climbing back over it to get out, the drop would be larger on the other side, but it seemed to be the only option, the front gate was out of the question and he doubted there was any other exit. Junku jogged to the wall, swung the girl onto his back and began scaling the wall. At the top of the wall he looked down, it was definitely going to be a long drop, he found himself wishing he had a rope because now here they were at the top of the wall with nowhere to go but down a fair ways.

The girl mumbled something and dug trough her robes, she shortly produced a white feather and smiled. She slid of from Junku's back, balanced herself on one foot and held Junku's arm with her hand. She showed him the feather and gave him a wide smile. What the hell was that supposto mean? So she has a got a bloody feather, unless it is going to magically morph into a large bird it was useless in Junku's eyes. She took Junku's arms and wrapped them around herself; she took her one arm and tightly hugged Junku with it. She tossed the feather into the air, and then pushed herself and Junku off the wall. Junku instinctively clung to her at first, but relaxed when he realised that they were gently floating down towards the ground. No one was going to believe this story he was sure of it. What kind of trickery magic was this?

They gracefully reached the ground; Junku looked at her in appreciation. He gave a high pitched whistle and from the woods a grey bear appeared, he picked up the girl and sat her onto the bear. Where they were going he did not know, just as long as it was far from here. They began walking though the night leaving the sounds of battle behind. A Human life for that of a Troll, no one will believe that story, much less a daring rescue of a Human by a Troll. This was definitely a story that will have to be told, even if no one were to believe it.


	2. Chapter 2

Hakiue couldn't believe her luck, she was positive she would be dead within a week. Perhaps she would be, the week wasn't over, but by her standards her luck was definitely improving, if being rescued from her own kind by a Troll could be considered improved luck.

She clung to the course grey hair of the bear she had been placed on. The Troll before her was very cautious as they made their way through the woods. She wasn't sure where he was taking her but she could tell that he was careful not to be noticed by local inhabitants or patrols. Their destination choices were few considering the circumstances and frankly Hakiue could care less where they were going, anything was better then the cold damp cell she called home for the past day or so, though a hot meal and a comfortable bed would be a definite plus.

Hakiue wondered if her dad noticed her absence or if anyone bothered to tell him that she was in prison and scheduled for execution. Probably not, the Alliance could never be trusted to be efficient or smart, and it would be too much of a bother to even inform loved ones of her fate, that is assuming they could find her loved ones. Her dad had taken to the bottle after her mother died and has never been the same since; Hakiue never knew what tavern he'd turn up in. After her training she joined the guild and went off to fight the Horde, any contact with her father was sporadic at best. She didn't want to join the Alliance forces, but anything was better then begging for silver or food in the alley ways of Stormwind. She could have always become a tavern maid, at least then she would at least be able to keep some sort of tab on her father. Then she wouldn't be in this mess, war refugee, riding a grey bear that belonged to a Troll, and suffering a broken ankle. Ah yes this was much better then serving mead to drunken ex-militants as they tried to undress you. Yes joining the war effort was a much better deal. Three food rations a day, a dry tent and cot at night, and execution for acting upon personal feelings of compassion. Saving the Troll was perhaps the stupidest thing she had ever done, next to joining the guild. She looked up at the Troll, his blue hair swayed across his back as he walked. He would be dead now if it wasn't for her stupidity. She didn't even know his name. Who the hell was he anyways?

"Hey," Hakiue tired to get the Troll's attention. His ear twitched. "Hello? Blue guy?"

The Trolled stopped walking and turned to look at her. The familiar brown eyes rested on her own eyes. She stared back, remembering what compelled her to save this Trolls life. Damn gut feeling. There was something about this Troll that told her that he was no enemy; that he, like her was stuck fighting a war that they did not know or care about.

Hakiue sighed, "My name is Hakiue," The Troll just stared at her and she felt like she had to say something else, "Um, thank you."

The Troll gave her a confused look. She tried again, slower this time.

"My name is Hakiue," she said as she gestured to herself.

The troll pointed at her, "name."

"Hakiue." She then pointed at the troll. "Name?"

The troll smiled and pointed to himself, "Junku, name, Junku," He then pointed to Hakiue, "Name, Hakiue."

Hakiue gave him a big smile and nodded. Apparently trolls were not as dumb as they are portrayed, Junku definitely showed signs of intelligence. If sneaking into Stormwind to save a human girl can be considered intelligent.

* * *

Junku wandered into the obscure troll village off of the Vile Reef and headed towards a familiar troll. 

"Well, well, well Junku, I never thought I'd see you again, with the ban against me and all," the dark blue troll pulled Junko into a hug. Junku's uncle was disowned when he decided to mate with a female Night Elf, but he never fully let go of the family. Although Junku did not really understand what happened when his uncle was disowned, because he was still just a young boy, he soon grew up to admire his uncle for his unwavering devotion to his mate and for standing up to the family for his choices.

"Whoa, hey, hey!! Looks like you bagged yourself a human mate!" The older troll exclaimed as he looked over Junku's shoulder to see Hakiue sleeping on the bears back. "I knew you'd be the one to break tradition, after me of course, though nephew, you should really take better care of her, she looks all bruised up, were you trying to set her in line? I know them human girls can be strong willed."

"No uncle, she is not my mate, nor am I beating her." Junku told him, feeling a little exasperated. "I rescued her from Stormwind and she needs medical attention."

"You rescued her from Stormwind? Have you gone mad boy? I know human girls are cute and all, but Stormwind? I'm surprised you are not dead boy!"

"I was indebted to her; she had saved my life back in Ashenvale Forest."

"Ashenvale Forest? What in Thrals name were you doing in Ashenvale Forest?"

"What I was doing in Ashenvale Forest doesn't matter anymore, Hakiue needs medical attention, is there anyone here that can help her?"

"Ya ya, sure calm down boy, follow me." The darker troll began walking towards another hut on the island, "Mecisal is one of out best Shamans, he will fix her up good." He said over his shoulder.

Junku picked Hakiue up in his arms and followed his Uncle to the hut where Mecisal resided.

"Oh-ho old friend comes to visit I see. Kokushi! You bugger, long time no see."

Junku couldn't help but roll his eyes; every troll on this small island was completely eccentric in everyway. 'Long time no see'? Please, it was a small island, how long was 'long time'? An hour? A day? Gods knows it couldn't possibly be more then a week.

"Mecisal, I have a favour to ask of you, my young nephew here brings his female… err… friend here for medical attention." Kokushi said to the troll shaman before him.

"Hmmm well lets take a look, put her on the bedding over there." He motioned towards a small bed off to the side of the hut. Junku gently placed her on the bedding, careful not to aggravate the injury further. Junku let his eyes linger on her face; she had dirt and grey fur mixed in with smeared blood. He wanted to wipe away the dirt and blood from her pale face, but he was afraid to hurt her with his rough calloused hand.

"Step aside son; let me take a look at her." Junku made way for the Shaman who hovered over her examining her various wounds. "Looks like you got yourself a priest girl here. You gave her quite a beating boy; you beat her into an unconscious state. What did she do to you to upset you so?"

"I did not beat her!" Junku said forcefully, how many times was he going to have to explain that he was not the one who hurt her?

"Err Mecisal, she came that way." Kokushi added.

"Ah damaged goods, boy you best get yourself another matchmaker, not only did you end up with a human, she's all roughed up." Mecisal said with an air of wisdom.

Junku felt his jaw drop from shock; these trolls were thick beyond help. "She is not my mate! She saved my life, so I saved hers and now she needs medical help, end of story."

"Aye, this is true, though I wonder why, if she is a priest, she did not heal herself." Junku's uncle responded.

"She's unconscious that is why, furthermore, not all priests can heal; this one is a Shadow Priest." Mecisal explained as he began cleaning up her wounds. "I recognise this girl," he muttered to himself. "She has fought for our tribe in old Zul."

"You sure friend?" Kokushi asked becoming serious.

"Positive, she had an impressive power for someone so young. Unfortunate that she be associated with such an arrogant guild. I always believed that we'd be able to come out of hiding once we proved ourselves to both the Horde and Alliance, but sadly they are blinded by war. Outside of Zul the Alliance will never see as anything more as Trolls, we all are the same to them, they cannot differentiate. I hoped that the new generation would be different, but they are trained and brainwashed by the old and ignorant. The Horde on the other hand, accepts us because they have much to gain from helping our cause, however they do not take kind that we do not take arms against the Alliance, this is why my friend, the war will never end and we must continue our lives the way we always have."

"Hmmm well put friend."

"Why don't you take your nephew so that he can rest, no doubt he is weary from his travels with the human girl." Mecisal told Kokashi.

Kokashi took Junku back to his hut and set him up comfortably on some spare mats. It was not until Junku laid his head on the pillow that he realised how tired he actually was and within moments he was out cold.


End file.
